Display device

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device including a first gate electrode and a second gate electrode formed apart from each other over an insulating surface, an oxide semiconductor film including a region overlapping with the first gate electrode with a gate insulating film interposed therebetween, a region overlapping with the second gate electrode with the gate insulating film interposed therebetween, and a region overlapping with neither the first gate electrode nor the second gate electrode, and an insulating film covering the gate insulating film, the first gate electrode, the second gate electrode, and the oxide semiconductor film, and being in direct contact with the oxide semiconductor film is provided.

TECHNICAL FIELD

One embodiment of the disclosed invention relates to a semiconductordevice, a display device, and manufacturing methods thereof.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, active matrix display devices (such as light-emittingdisplay devices and electrophoretic display devices) in which aswitching element or a current control element including a thin filmtransistor (TFT) is provided in each of display pixels arranged inmatrix have been actively developed. As one of such light-emittingdisplay devices, for example, an electroluminescent (EL) display deviceis given.

A technique where a transistor in which a channel formation region isformed in an oxide semiconductor film (hereinafter referred to as an“oxide semiconductor transistor”) is formed over a light-transmittingsubstrate and used for a switching element or the like of a displaydevice has been studied (see Patent Document 1).

As compared with a transistor in which a channel formation region isformed in an amorphous silicon film, an oxide semiconductor transistorhas a high field effect mobility and thus has the advantage of a highon-state current. In addition, the oxide semiconductor transistor hasthe advantage that the off-state current is lower than that of thetransistor in which a channel formation region is formed in an amorphoussilicon film.

REFERENCE Patent Document

-   [Patent Document 1] Japanese Published Patent Application No.    2010-56539

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

However, in the case where an oxide semiconductor transistor is used asa transistor provided in a pixel of a light-emitting display device, theon-state current of the oxide semiconductor transistor might be toohigh. In the transistor whose on-state current is too high, the draincurrent considerably varies even when the driving voltage of thetransistor slightly varies. There is a problem in that the luminance ofthe light-emitting display device significantly varies when the draincurrent of the transistor considerably varies.

Accordingly, the on-state current of the oxide semiconductor transistorprovided in a pixel needs to be adjusted. In order to decrease theon-state current of the oxide semiconductor transistor, the channellength of the oxide semiconductor transistor may be long.

However, when the channel length of the oxide semiconductor transistoris long, there is another problem in that the area occupied by the oxidesemiconductor transistor is increased.

In a high-definition display device, the area occupied by one pixel issmall.

Therefore, in the case where the transistor with a large occupied areais used in such a pixel with a small occupied area, the aperture ratioof the display device might be low.

In view of the above, an object of one embodiment of the disclosedinvention is to provide an oxide semiconductor transistor in which theon-state current can be reduced without increasing the occupied area.

Another object of one embodiment of the disclosed invention is toprovide a display device in which an oxide semiconductor transistorwhose on-state current is reduced is used in a pixel without decreasingthe aperture ratio.

Further, since an oxide semiconductor transistor has a high on-statecurrent as described above, the oxide semiconductor transistor can beused for a driver circuit such as a gate driver or a source driver.

By manufacturing an oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-statecurrent is low and an oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-statecurrent is high over one substrate, the number of manufacturing steps ofoxide semiconductor transistors can be reduced and thus themanufacturing cost can be lower.

In view of the above, another object of one embodiment of the disclosedinvention is to manufacture an oxide semiconductor transistor whoseon-state current is low and an oxide semiconductor transistor whoseon-state current is high over one substrate.

Further, in the case where a display device is manufactured in such amanner that over one substrate, an oxide semiconductor transistor whoseon-state current is low is manufactured in a pixel and an oxidesemiconductor transistor whose on-state current is high is manufacturedin a driver circuit, the number of manufacturing steps of the displaydevice can be reduced and thus the manufacturing cost can be lower.

Accordingly, another object of one embodiment of the disclosed inventionis to provide a display device in which over one substrate, an oxidesemiconductor transistor whose on-state current is low is used in apixel and an oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-state current ishigh is used in a driver circuit.

In an oxide semiconductor transistor, a first gate electrode and asecond gate electrode are provided on a source electrode side and on adrain electrode side, respectively.

Thus, between a region where an oxide semiconductor film and the firstgate electrode overlap with each other and a region where the oxidesemiconductor film and the second gate electrode overlap with eachother, a region where the oxide semiconductor film and the gateelectrodes do not overlap with each other is formed. In thisspecification, a region of the oxide semiconductor film which does notoverlap with the gate electrode is referred to as an L_(off) region. Theon-state current of the oxide semiconductor transistor can be reduced byforming the L_(off) region.

The thus manufactured oxide semiconductor transistor is used in a pixel,whereby the on-state current can be reduced without increasing the areaoccupied by the oxide semiconductor transistor.

Moreover, in a display device including a pixel in which the oxidesemiconductor transistor whose on-state current is reduced is used,decrease in aperture ratio can be suppressed.

The on-state current of the oxide semiconductor transistor is high asdescribed above in the case where an L_(off) region is not formed. Theoxide semiconductor transistor whose on-state current is low and theoxide semiconductor transistor whose on-state current is high can bemanufactured over one substrate.

By manufacturing an oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-statecurrent is low and an oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-statecurrent is high over one substrate in the above manner, the number ofmanufacturing steps can be reduced and thus the manufacturing cost canbe lower.

An oxide semiconductor transistor in which an L_(off) region is notformed (the oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-state current ishigh) is used as a transistor included in a driver circuit, and an oxidesemiconductor transistor in which an L_(off) region is formed (the oxidesemiconductor transistor whose on-state current is low) is used as atransistor included in a pixel, whereby the oxide semiconductortransistor for the pixel and the oxide semiconductor transistor for thedriver circuit can be manufactured over one substrate.

In the case where a display device is manufactured in the above mannerin which over one substrate, an oxide semiconductor transistor whoseon-state current is low is manufactured in a pixel and an oxidesemiconductor transistor whose on-state current is high is manufacturedin a driver circuit, the number of manufacturing steps of the displaydevice can be reduced and thus the manufacturing cost can be lower.

One embodiment of the disclosed invention is a semiconductor deviceincluding: a first gate electrode and a second gate electrode formedapart from each other over an insulating surface; an oxide semiconductorfilm including a region overlapping with the first gate electrode with agate insulating film interposed therebetween, a region overlapping withthe second gate electrode with the gate insulating film interposedtherebetween, and a region overlapping with neither the first gateelectrode nor the second gate electrode; one of a source electrode and adrain electrode overlapping with a part of the first gate electrode anda part of the oxide semiconductor film; the other of the sourceelectrode and the drain electrode overlapping with a part of the secondgate electrode and a part of the oxide semiconductor film; and aninsulating film covering the gate insulating film, the first gateelectrode, the second gate electrode, the oxide semiconductor film, thesource electrode, and the drain electrode. The insulating film is indirect contact with the oxide semiconductor film.

One embodiment of the disclosed invention is a semiconductor deviceincluding a first transistor and a second transistor over an insulatingsurface. The first transistor includes: a first gate electrode and asecond gate electrode formed apart from each other over the insulatingsurface; a first oxide semiconductor film comprising a regionoverlapping with the first gate electrode with a gate insulating filminterposed therebetween, a region overlapping with the second gateelectrode with the gate insulating film interposed therebetween, and aregion overlapping with neither the first gate electrode nor the secondgate electrode; one of a first source electrode and a first drainelectrode overlapping with a part of the first gate electrode and a partof the first oxide semiconductor film; the other of the first sourceelectrode and the first drain electrode overlapping with a part of thesecond gate electrode and a part of the first oxide semiconductor film;and an insulating film covering the gate insulating film, the first gateelectrode, the second gate electrode, the first oxide semiconductorfilm, the first source electrode, and the first drain electrode. Theinsulating film is in direct contact with the first oxide semiconductorfilm. The second transistor over the insulating surface includes: athird gate electrode over the insulating surface; a second oxidesemiconductor film overlapping with the third gate electrode with thegate insulating film interposed therebetween; a second source electrodeoverlapping with a part of the third gate electrode and a part of thesecond oxide semiconductor film and a second drain electrode overlappingwith a part of the third gate electrode and a part of the second oxidesemiconductor film; and the insulating film covering the gate insulatingfilm, the third gate electrode, the second oxide semiconductor film, thesecond source electrode, and the second drain electrode. The insulatingfilm is in direct contact with the second oxide semiconductor film.

One embodiment of the disclosed invention is a display device including,over an insulating surface, a driver circuit for driving a pixelportion, and the pixel portion including a plurality of pixels. Each ofthe plurality of pixels includes a light-emitting element, a switchingelement for controlling on/off of a current control element, and thecurrent control element for controlling a current of the light-emittingelement. The current control element includes a first gate electrode anda second gate electrode formed apart from each other over the insulatingsurface; an oxide semiconductor film including a region overlapping withthe first gate electrode with a gate insulating film interposedtherebetween, a region overlapping with the second gate electrode withthe gate insulating film interposed therebetween, and a regionoverlapping with neither the first gate electrode nor the second gateelectrode; one of a source electrode and a drain electrode overlappingwith a part of the first gate electrode and a part of the oxidesemiconductor film; the other of the source electrode and the drainelectrode overlapping with a part of the second gate electrode and apart of the oxide semiconductor film; and an insulating film coveringthe gate insulating film, the first gate electrode, the second gateelectrode, the oxide semiconductor film, the source electrode, and thedrain electrode. The insulating film is in direct contact with the oxidesemiconductor film.

One embodiment of the disclosed invention is a display device including,over an insulating surface, a pixel portion including a plurality ofpixels and a driver circuit for driving the pixel portion. Each of theplurality of pixels includes a first transistor. The first transistorincludes a first gate electrode and a second gate electrode formed apartfrom each other over the insulating surface; a first oxide semiconductorfilm including a region overlapping with the first gate electrode with agate insulating film interposed therebetween, a region overlapping withthe second gate electrode with the gate insulating film interposedtherebetween, and a region overlapping with neither the first gateelectrode nor the second gate electrode; one of a first source electrodeand a first drain electrode overlapping with a part of the first gateelectrode and a part of the first oxide semiconductor film; the other ofthe first source electrode and the first drain electrode overlappingwith a part of the second gate electrode and a part of the first oxidesemiconductor film; and an insulating film covering the gate insulatingfilm, the first gate electrode, the second gate electrode, the firstoxide semiconductor film, the first source electrode, and the firstdrain electrode. The insulating film is in direct contact with the firstoxide semiconductor film. The driver circuit includes a secondtransistor. The second transistor includes a third gate electrode overthe insulating surface; a second oxide semiconductor film overlappingwith the third gate electrode with the gate insulating film interposedtherebetween; a second source electrode overlapping with a part of thethird gate electrode and a part of the second oxide semiconductor filmand a second drain electrode overlapping with a part of the third gateelectrode and a part of the second oxide semiconductor film; and theinsulating film covering the gate insulating film, the third gateelectrode, the second oxide semiconductor film, the second sourceelectrode, and the second drain electrode. The insulating film is indirect contact with the second oxide semiconductor film.

In one embodiment of the disclosed invention, each of the plurality ofpixels includes a light-emitting element.

One embodiment of the disclosed invention is a display device including,over an insulating surface, a pixel portion including a plurality ofpixels and a driver circuit for driving the pixel portion. Each of theplurality of pixels includes a light-emitting element; a switchingelement for controlling on/off of a current control element; and thecurrent control element for controlling a current of the light-emittingelement. The current control element includes a first transistor. Thefirst transistor includes a first gate electrode and a second gateelectrode formed apart from each other over the insulating surface; afirst oxide semiconductor film comprising a region overlapping with thefirst gate electrode with a gate insulating film interposedtherebetween, a region overlapping with the second gate electrode withthe gate insulating film interposed therebetween, and a regionoverlapping with neither the first gate electrode nor the second gateelectrode; one of a first source electrode and a first drain electrodeoverlapping with a part of the first gate electrode and a part of thefirst oxide semiconductor film; the other of the first source electrodeand the first drain electrode overlapping with a part of the second gateelectrode and a part of the first oxide semiconductor film; and aninsulating film covering the gate insulating film, the first gateelectrode, the second gate electrode, the first oxide semiconductorfilm, the first source electrode, and the first drain electrode. Theinsulating film is in direct contact with the first oxide semiconductorfilm. The driver circuit includes a second transistor. The secondtransistor includes a third gate electrode over the insulating surface;a second oxide semiconductor film overlapping with the third gateelectrode with the gate insulating film interposed therebetween; asecond source electrode overlapping with a part of the third gateelectrode and a part of the second oxide semiconductor film and a seconddrain electrode overlapping with a part of the third gate electrode anda part of the second oxide semiconductor film; and the insulating filmcovering the gate insulating film, the third gate electrode, the secondoxide semiconductor film, the second source electrode, and the seconddrain electrode. The insulating film is in direct contact with thesecond oxide semiconductor film.

In one embodiment of the disclosed invention, the driver circuit is asource driver or a gate driver.

According to one embodiment of the disclosed invention, an oxidesemiconductor transistor in which the on-state current can be reducedwithout increasing the occupied area can be provided.

According to one embodiment of the disclosed invention, an oxidesemiconductor transistor whose on-state current is reduced is used in apixel without decreasing the aperture ratio can be provided.

According to one embodiment of the disclosed invention, an oxidesemiconductor transistor whose on-state current is low and an oxidesemiconductor transistor whose on-state current is high over onesubstrate can be manufactured.

By manufacturing an oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-statecurrent is low and an oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-statecurrent is high over one substrate, the number of manufacturing steps ofoxide semiconductor transistors can be reduced and thus themanufacturing cost can be lower.

According to one embodiment of the disclosed invention, a display devicein which over one substrate, an oxide semiconductor transistor whoseon-state current is low is used in a pixel and an oxide semiconductortransistor whose on-state current is high is used in a driver circuitcan be provided.

An oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-state current is low ismanufactured in a pixel and an oxide semiconductor transistor whoseon-state current is high is manufactured in a driver circuit, the numberof manufacturing steps of a display device can be reduced and thus themanufacturing cost can be lower.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1A is a top view of a semiconductor device and FIG. 1B is across-sectional view thereof;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are top views of a semiconductor device and FIG. 2C is across-sectional view thereof;

FIGS. 3A to 3C are cross-sectional views illustrating a manufacturingprocess of a semiconductor device;

FIGS. 4A to 4C are cross-sectional views illustrating the manufacturingprocess of a semiconductor device;

FIG. 5A is a block diagram of a display device and FIG. 5B is a circuitdiagram of a pixel;

FIGS. 6A to 6C are cross-sectional views of display devices;

FIG. 7A is a top view of a display panel and 7B is a cross-sectionalview thereof;

FIG. 8 is a graph showing V_(gs)-I_(d) characteristics of an oxidesemiconductor transistor;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are graphs showing characteristics of transistors whosechannel lengths are different from each other;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are top views of a semiconductor device and FIG. 10Cis a cross-sectional view thereof;

FIGS. 11A to 11E are views illustrating structures of oxide materials;

FIGS. 12A to 12C are views illustrating structures of oxide materials;and

FIGS. 13A to 13C are views illustrating structures of oxide materials.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention disclosed in this specification will behereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Notethat the invention disclosed in this specification can be carried out ina variety of different modes, and it is easily understood by thoseskilled in the art that the modes and details can be changed in variousways without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventiondisclosed in this specification. Therefore, the present invention is notconstrued as being limited to description of the embodiments. Note thatin the drawings described below, the same portions or portions havingsimilar functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, anddescription thereof is not repeated.

Note that in the invention disclosed in this specification, asemiconductor device refers to an element or a device which functions byutilizing a semiconductor and includes, in its category, an electricdevice including an electronic circuit, a display device, alight-emitting device, and the like and an electronic appliance on whichthe electric device is mounted.

<Oxide Semiconductor Transistor Having an L_(off) Region>

An oxide semiconductor transistor 100 illustrated in FIG. 1B is formedover a substrate 101 having an insulating surface. The oxidesemiconductor transistor 100 includes a gate electrode 102 a serving asa first gate electrode, a gate electrode 102 b serving as a second gateelectrode, a gate insulating film 123, an oxide semiconductor film 104serving as a first oxide semiconductor film, an electrode 105 a servingas one of a source electrode and a drain electrode, and an electrode 105b serving as the other of the source electrode and the drain electrode.

As the substrate 101, the following can be used: an alkali-free glasssubstrate manufactured by a fusion method or a floating method, such asa barium borosilicate glass substrate, an aluminoborosilicate glasssubstrate, or an aluminosilicate glass substrate; a ceramic substrate; aplastic substrate having heat resistance sufficient to withstand aprocess temperature of this manufacturing process; or the like.Alternatively, a metal substrate such as a stainless steel alloysubstrate the surface of which is provided with an insulating film maybe used.

The gate electrode 102 a and the gate electrode 102 b are formed apartfrom each other over the substrate 101. The gate insulating film 123 isprovided between the gate electrode 102 a and the gate electrode 102 b.

Each of the gate electrode 102 a serving as the first gate electrode andthe gate electrode 102 b serving as the second gate electrode is aconductive film containing any of titanium (Ti), molybdenum (Mo),chromium (Cr), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), aluminum (Al), silver (Ag),gold (Au), and copper (Cu).

Each of the gate electrode 102 a and the gate electrode 102 b may have asingle layer structure of a conductive film containing any of the aboveelements or a stacked structure of conductive films containing any ofthe above elements.

Note that a semiconductor film or a conductive film is formed over thegate electrode 102 a and the gate electrode 102 b. In order to preventdisconnection of the semiconductor film or the conductive film, endportions of the gate electrode 102 a and the gate electrode 102 b arepreferably processed so that the gate electrode 102 a and the gateelectrode 102 b each have a taper shape.

The gate insulating film 123 is formed to cover the gate electrode 102 aand the gate electrode 102 b.

The gate insulating film 123 may have a single layer structure of asilicon oxide film, a silicon oxynitride film, a silicon nitride oxidefilm, or a silicon nitride film, or may have a stacked structure of anyof these films.

In this embodiment, a silicon oxynitride film refers to a film thatcontains more oxygen (O) than nitrogen (N) and, in the case wheremeasurements are performed using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry(RBS) and hydrogen forward scattering (HFS), contains oxygen (O),nitrogen (N), silicon (Si), and hydrogen (H) at concentrations rangingfrom 55 at. % to 70 at. %, from 0.5 at. % to 15 at. %, from 25 at. % to35 at. %, and from 0.1 at. % to 10 at. %, respectively.

Further, a silicon nitride oxide film refers to a film that containsmore nitrogen (N) than oxygen (O) and contains oxygen (O), nitrogen (N),silicon (Si), and hydrogen (H) at concentrations ranging from 5 at. % to30 at. %, 20 at. % to 55 at. %, 25 at. % to 35 at. %, and 10 at. % to 30at. %, respectively.

Note that percentages of nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), silicon (Si), andhydrogen (H) fall within the ranges given above, where the total numberof atoms contained in the silicon oxynitride or the silicon nitrideoxide is defined as 100 at. %.

For the gate insulating film 123, an oxide of aluminum (Al), yttrium(Y), magnesium (Mg), or hafnium (Hf); a nitride of aluminum (Al),yttrium (Y), magnesium (Mg), or hafnium (Hf); an oxynitride of aluminum(Al), yttrium (Y), magnesium (Mg), or hafnium (Hf); or a nitride oxideof aluminum (Al), yttrium (Y), magnesium (Mg), or hafnium (Hf) can beused. Alternatively, a compound including at least two kinds of theoxide, the nitride, the oxynitride, and the nitride oxide can be used.

The oxide semiconductor transistor 100 includes, over the gateinsulating film 123, the oxide semiconductor film 104 in which a channelformation region is formed. Since the oxide semiconductor transistor 100includes the oxide semiconductor film 104 that has a continuous surface,there is no barrier to carrier transfer, which is preferable.

Thus, between a region where the oxide semiconductor film 104 and thefirst gate electrode 102 a overlap with each other and a region wherethe oxide semiconductor film 104 and the second gate electrode 102 boverlap with each other, a region where the oxide semiconductor film 104and the gate electrodes do not overlap with each other is formed. Inthis specification, the region of the oxide semiconductor film 104 whichoverlaps with neither the first gate electrode 102 a nor the second gateelectrode 102 b is referred to as an L_(off) region 109. The on-statecurrent of the oxide semiconductor transistor can be reduced by formingthe L_(off) region.

As the oxide semiconductor film 104, a thin film of an oxidesemiconductor described below is used.

An oxide semiconductor used in this example preferably contains at leastindium (In) or zinc (Zn). In particular, In and Zn are preferablycontained. As a stabilizer for reducing change in electriccharacteristics of a transistor including the oxide semiconductor,gallium (Ga) is preferably additionally contained. Tin (Sn) ispreferably contained as a stabilizer. Hafnium (Hf) is preferablycontained as a stabilizer. Aluminum (Al) is preferably contained as astabilizer.

As another stabilizer, one or plural kinds of lanthanoid such aslanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), samarium(Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy),holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), or lutetium(Lu) may be contained.

As the oxide semiconductor, for example, an indium oxide, a tin oxide, azinc oxide, a two-component metal oxide such as an In—Zn-based oxide, aSn—Zn-based oxide, an Al—Zn-based oxide, a Zn—Mg-based oxide, aSn—Mg-based oxide, an In—Mg-based oxide, or an In—Ga-based oxide, athree-component metal oxide such as an In—Ga—Zn-based oxide (alsoreferred to as IGZO), an In—Al—Zn-based oxide, an In—Sn—Zn-based oxide,a Sn—Ga—Zn-based oxide, an Al—Ga—Zn-based oxide, a Sn—Al—Zn-based oxide,an In—Hf—Zn-based oxide, an In—La—Zn-based oxide, an In—Ce—Zn-basedoxide, an In—Pr—Zn-based oxide, an In—Nd—Zn-based oxide, anIn—Sm—Zn-based oxide, an In—Eu—Zn-based oxide, an In—Gd—Zn-based oxide,an In—Tb—Zn-based oxide, an In—Dy—Zn-based oxide, an In—Ho—Zn-basedoxide, an In—Er—Zn-based oxide, an In—Tm—Zn-based oxide, anIn—Yb—Zn-based oxide, or an In—Lu—Zn-based oxide, and a four-componentmetal oxide such as an In—Sn—Ga—Zn-based oxide, an In—Hf—Ga—Zn-basedoxide, an In—Al—Ga—Zn-based oxide, an In—Sn—Al—Zn-based oxide, anIn—Sn—Hf—Zn-based oxide, or an In—Hf—Al—Zn-based oxide can be used.

Note that here, for example, an “In—Ga—Zn-based oxide” means an oxidecontaining In, Ga, and Zn as its main component, in which there is noparticular limitation on the ratio of In:Ga:Zn. In addition to In, Ga,and Zn, a metal element may be contained.

As the oxide semiconductor, a material expressed by a chemical formula,InMO₃(ZnO)_(m) (m>0, m is not an integer) may be used. Here, Mrepresents one or more metal elements selected from Ga, Fe, Mn, or Co.Alternatively, as the oxide semiconductor, a material expressed by achemical formula, In₂SnO₅(ZnO)_(n) (n>0, n is an integer) may be used.

For example, an In—Ga—Zn-based oxide with an atomic ratio ofIn:Ga:Zn=1:1:1 (=1/3:1/3:1/3) or In:Ga:Zn=2:2:1 (=2/5:2/5:1/5), or anyof oxides whose composition is in the neighborhood of the abovecompositions can be used. Alternatively, an In—Sn—Zn-based oxide with anatomic ratio of In:Sn:Zn=1:1:1 (=1/3:1/3:1/3), In:Sn:Zn=2:1:3(=1/3:1/6:1/2), or In:Sn:Zn=2:1:5 (=1/4:1/8:5/8), or any of oxides whosecomposition is in the neighborhood of the above compositions may beused.

However, the composition is not limited to those described above, and amaterial having the appropriate composition may be used depending onnecessary semiconductor characteristics (e.g., mobility, thresholdvoltage, and variation). In order to obtain necessary semiconductorcharacteristics, it is preferable that the carrier density, the impurityconcentration, the defect density, the atomic ratio of a metal elementto oxygen, the interatomic distance, the density, and the like be set tobe appropriate.

For example, with the In—Sn—Zn-based oxide, a high mobility can berelatively easily obtained. However, the mobility can be increased byreducing the defect density in the bulk also in the case of using theIn—Ga—Zn-based oxide.

Note that for example, the expression “the composition of an oxideincluding In, Ga, and Zn at the atomic ratio, In:Ga:Zn=a:b:c (a+b+c=1),is in the neighborhood of the composition of an oxide including In, Ga,and Zn at the atomic ratio, In:Ga:Zn=A:B:C (A+B+C=1)” means that a, b,and c satisfy the following relation: (a−A)²+(b−B)²+(c−C)²≦r², and r maybe 0.05, for example. The same applies to other oxides.

The oxide semiconductor may be either single crystal ornon-single-crystal. In the latter case, the oxide semiconductor may beeither amorphous or polycrystal. Further, the oxide semiconductor mayhave either an amorphous structure including a portion havingcrystallinity or a non-amorphous structure.

In an oxide semiconductor in an amorphous state, a flat surface can beobtained relatively easily, so that when a transistor is manufacturedwith the use of the oxide semiconductor, interface scattering can bereduced, and relatively high mobility can be obtained relatively easily.

In an oxide semiconductor having crystallinity, defects in the bulk canbe further reduced and when a surface flatness is improved, mobilityhigher than that of an oxide semiconductor in an amorphous state can beobtained. In order to improve the surface flatness, the oxidesemiconductor is preferably formed over a flat surface. Specifically,the oxide semiconductor may be formed over a surface with the averagesurface roughness (R_(a)) of less than or equal to 1 nm, preferably lessthan or equal to 0.3 nm, further preferably less than or equal to 0.1nm.

Note that the average surface roughness (R_(a)) is obtained byexpanding, into three dimensions, center line average roughness that isdefined by JIS B 0601 so as to be able to apply it to a measurementsurface. The R_(a) can be expressed as an “average value of the absolutevalues of deviations from a reference surface to a designated surface”and is defined by the following formula.

$\begin{matrix}{{Ra} = {\frac{1}{S_{0}}{\int_{y_{1}}^{y_{2}}{\int_{x_{1}}^{x_{2}}{{{{f\left( {x,y} \right)} - Z_{0}}}{\mathbb{d}x}{\mathbb{d}y}}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{FORMULA}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In the above formula, S₀ represents the area of a plane to be measured(a rectangular region which is defined by four points represented bycoordinates (x₁, y₁), (x₁, y₂), (x₂, y₁), and (x₂, y₂)), and Z₀represents an average height of the plane to be measured. R_(a) can bemeasured using an atomic force microscope (AFM).

Here, as the oxide semiconductor having crystallinity, an oxideincluding a crystal with c-axis alignment (also referred to as C-AxisAligned Crystal (CAAC)), which has a triangular or hexagonal atomicarrangement when seen from the direction of an a-b plane, a surface, oran interface will be described. In the crystal, metal atoms are arrangedin a layered manner, or metal atoms and oxygen atoms are arranged in alayered manner along the c-axis, and the direction of the a-axis or theb-axis is varied in the a-b plane (the crystal rotates around thec-axis).

In a broad sense, an oxide including CAAC means a non-single-crystaloxide including a phase which has a triangular, hexagonal, regulartriangular, or regular hexagonal atomic arrangement when seen from thedirection perpendicular to the a-b plane and in which metal atoms arearranged in a layered manner or metal atoms and oxygen atoms arearranged in a layered manner when seen from the direction perpendicularto the c-axis direction.

The CAAC is not a single crystal, but this does not mean that the CAACis composed of only an amorphous component. Although the CAAC includes acrystallized portion (crystalline portion), a boundary between onecrystalline portion and another crystalline portion is not clear in somecases.

In the case where oxygen is included in the CAAC, nitrogen may besubstituted for part of oxygen included in the CAAC. The c-axes ofindividual crystalline portions included in the CAAC may be aligned inone direction (e.g., a direction perpendicular to a surface of asubstrate over which the CAAC is formed or a surface of the CAAC).Alternatively, the normals of the a-b planes of the individualcrystalline portions included in the CAAC may be aligned in onedirection (e.g., a direction perpendicular to a surface of a substrateover which the CAAC is formed or a surface of the CAAC).

The CAAC becomes a conductor, a semiconductor, or an insulator dependingon its composition or the like. The CAAC transmits or does not transmitvisible light depending on its composition or the like.

As an example of such a CAAC, there is a crystal which is formed into afilm shape and has a triangular or hexagonal atomic arrangement whenobserved from the direction perpendicular to a surface of the film or asurface of a supporting substrate, and in which metal atoms are arrangedin a layered manner or metal atoms and oxygen atoms (or nitrogen atoms)are arranged in a layered manner when a cross section of the film isobserved.

An example of a crystal structure of the CAAC will be described indetail with reference to FIGS. 11A to 11E, FIGS. 12A to 12C, and FIGS.13A to 13C. In FIGS. 11A to 11E, FIGS. 12A to 12C, and FIGS. 13A to 13C,the vertical direction corresponds to the c-axis direction and a planeperpendicular to the c-axis direction corresponds to the a-b plane,unless otherwise specified. When the expressions “an upper half” and “alower half” are simply used, they refer to an upper half above the a-bplane and a lower half below the a-b plane (an upper half and a lowerhalf with respect to the a-b plane). Furthermore, in FIGS. 11A to 11E, Osurrounded by a circle represents tetracoodianate O and O surrounded bya double circle represents tricoodenate O.

FIG. 11A illustrates a structure including one hexacoordinate In atomand six tetracoordinate oxygen (hereinafter referred to astetracoordinate O) atoms proximate to the In atom. Here, a structureincluding one metal atom and oxygen atoms proximate thereto is referredto as a small group. The structure in FIG. 11A is actually an octahedralstructure, but is illustrated as a planar structure for simplicity. Notethat three tetracoordinate O atoms exist in each of an upper half and alower half in FIG. 11A. In the small group illustrated in FIG. 11A,electric charge is 0.

FIG. 11B illustrates a structure including one pentacoordinate Ga atom,three tricoordinate oxygen (hereinafter referred to as tricoordinate O)atoms proximate to the Ga atom, and two tetracoordinate O atomsproximate to the Ga atom. All the tricoordinate O atoms exist on the a-bplane. One tetracoordinate O atom exists in each of an upper half and alower half in FIG. 11B. An In atom can also have the structureillustrated in FIG. 11B because an In atom can have five ligands. In thesmall group illustrated in FIG. 11B, electric charge is 0.

FIG. 11C illustrates a structure including one tetracoordinate Zn atomand four tetracoordinate O atoms proximate to the Zn atom. In FIG. 11C,one tetracoordinate O atom exists in an upper half and threetetracoordinate O atoms exist in a lower half. Alternatively, threetetracoordinate O atoms may exist in the upper half and onetetracoordinate O atom may exist in the lower half in FIG. 11C. In thesmall group illustrated in FIG. 11C, electric charge is 0.

FIG. 11D illustrates a structure including one hexacoordinate Sn atomand six tetracoordinate O atoms proximate to the Sn atom. In FIG. 11D,three tetracoordinate O atoms exist in each of an upper half and a lowerhalf. In the small group illustrated in FIG. 11D, electric charge is +1.

FIG. 11E illustrates a small group including two Zn atoms. In FIG. 11E,one tetracoordinate O atom exists in each of an upper half and a lowerhalf. In the small group illustrated in FIG. 11E, electric charge is −1.

Here, a plurality of small groups form a medium group, and a pluralityof medium groups form a large group (also referred to as a unit cell).

Now, a rule of bonding between the small groups will be described. Thethree O atoms in the upper half with respect to the hexacoordinate Inatom in FIG. 11A each have three proximate In atoms in the downwarddirection, and the three O atoms in the lower half each have threeproximate In atoms in the upward direction. The one O atom in the upperhalf with respect to the pentacoordinate Ga atom has one proximate Gaatom in the downward direction, and the one O atom in the lower half hasone proximate Ga atom in the upward direction. The one O atom in theupper half with respect to the tetracoordinate Zn atom has one proximateZn atom in the downward direction, and the three O atoms in the lowerhalf each have three proximate Zn atoms in the upward direction. In thismanner, the number of the tetracoordinate O atoms above the metal atomis equal to the number of the metal atoms proximate to and below each ofthe tetracoordinate O atoms. Similarly, the number of thetetracoordinate O atoms below the metal atom is equal to the number ofthe metal atoms proximate to and above each of the tetracoordinate Oatoms. Since the coordination number of the tetracoordinate O atom is 4,the sum of the number of the metal atoms proximate to and below the Oatom and the number of the metal atoms proximate to and above the O atomis 4. Accordingly, when the sum of the number of tetracoordinate O atomsabove a metal atom and the number of tetracoordinate O atoms belowanother metal atom is 4, the two kinds of small groups including themetal atoms can be bonded. For example, in the case where thehexacoordinate metal (In or Sn) atom is bonded through threetetracoordinate O atoms in the lower half, it is bonded to thepentacoordinate metal (Ga or In) atom or the tetracoordinate metal (Zn)atom.

A metal atom whose coordination number is 4, 5, or 6 is bonded toanother metal atom through a tetracoordinate O atom in the c-axisdirection. In addition to the above, a medium group can be formed in adifferent manner by combining a plurality of small groups so that thetotal electric charge of the layered structure is 0.

FIG. 12A illustrates a model of a medium group included in a layeredstructure of an In—Sn—Zn—O-based material. FIG. 12B illustrates a largegroup including three medium groups. Note that FIG. 12C illustrates anatomic arrangement in the case where the layered structure in FIG. 12Bis observed from the c-axis direction.

In FIG. 12A, a tricoordinate O atom is omitted for simplicity, and atetracoordinate O atom is illustrated by a circle; the number in thecircle shows the number of tetracoordinate O atoms. For example, threetetracoordinate O atoms existing in each of an upper half and a lowerhalf with respect to a Sn atom are denoted by circled 3. Similarly, inFIG. 12A, one tetracoordinate O atom existing in each of an upper halfand a lower half with respect to an In atom is denoted by circled 1.FIG. 12A also illustrates a Zn atom proximate to one tetracoordinate Oatom in a lower half and three tetracoordinate O atoms in an upper half,and a Zn atom proximate to one tetracoordinate O atom in an upper halfand three tetracoordinate O atoms in a lower half.

In the medium group included in the layered structure of theIn—Sn—Zn—O-based material in FIG. 12A, in the order starting from thetop, a Sn atom proximate to three tetracoordinate O atoms in each of anupper half and a lower half is bonded to an In atom proximate to onetetracoordinate O atom in each of an upper half and a lower half, the Inatom is bonded to a Zn atom proximate to three tetracoordinate O atomsin an upper half, the Zn atom is bonded to an In atom proximate to threetetracoordinate O atoms in each of an upper half and a lower halfthrough one tetracoordinate O atom in a lower half with respect to theZn atom, the In atom is bonded to a small group that includes two Znatoms and is proximate to one tetracoordinate O atom in an upper half,and the small group is bonded to a Sn atom proximate to threetetracoordinate O atoms in each of an upper half and a lower halfthrough one tetracoordinate O atom in a lower half with respect to thesmall group. A plurality of such medium groups is bonded, so that alarge group is formed.

Here, electric charge for one bond of a tricoordinate O atom andelectric charge for one bond of a tetracoordinate O atom can be assumedto be −0.667 and −0.5, respectively. For example, electric charge of a(hexacoordinate or pentacoordinate) In atom, electric charge of a(tetracoordinate) Zn atom, and electric charge of a (pentacoordinate orhexacoordinate) Sn atom are +3, +2, and +4, respectively. Accordingly,electric charge in a small group including a Sn atom is +1. Therefore,electric charge of −1, which cancels +1, is needed to form a layeredstructure including a Sn atom. As a structure having electric charge of−1, the small group including two Zn atoms as illustrated in FIG. 11Ecan be given. For example, with one small group including two Zn atoms,electric charge of one small group including a Sn atom can be cancelled,so that the total electric charge of the layered structure can be 0.

When the large group illustrated in FIG. 12B is repeated, anIn—Sn—Zn—O-based crystal (In₂SnZn₃O₈) can be obtained. Note that alayered structure of the obtained In—Sn—Zn—O-based crystal can beexpressed as a composition formula, In₂SnZn₂O₇(ZnO)_(m), (m is 0 or anatural number).

The above-described rule also applies to the following oxides: afour-component metal oxide such as an In—Sn—Ga—Zn-based oxide; athree-component metal oxide such as an In—Ga—Zn-based oxide (alsoreferred to as IGZO), an In—Al—Zn-based oxide, a Sn—Ga—Zn-based oxide,an Al—Ga—Zn-based oxide, a Sn—Al—Zn-based oxide, an In—Hf—Zn-basedoxide, an In—La—Zn-based oxide, an In—Ce—Zn-based oxide, anIn—Pr—Zn-based oxide, an In—Nd—Zn-based oxide, an In—Sm—Zn-based oxide,an In—Eu—Zn-based oxide, an In—Gd—Zn-based oxide, an In—Tb—Zn-basedoxide, an In—Dy—Zn-based oxide, an In—Ho—Zn-based oxide, anIn—Er—Zn-based oxide, an In—Tm—Zn-based oxide, an In—Yb—Zn-based oxide,or an In—Lu—Zn-based oxide; a two-component metal oxide such as anIn—Zn-based oxide, a Sn—Zn-based oxide, an Al—Zn-based oxide, aZn—Mg-based oxide, a Sn—Mg-based oxide, an In—Mg-based oxide, or anIn—Ga-based oxide; and the like.

As an example, FIG. 13A illustrates a model of a medium group includedin a layered structure of an In—Ga—Zn—O-based material.

In the medium group included in the layered structure of theIn—Ga—Zn—O-based material in FIG. 13A, in the order starting from thetop, an In atom proximate to three tetracoordinate O atoms in each of anupper half and a lower half is bonded to a Zn atom proximate to onetetracoordinate O atom in an upper half, the Zn atom is bonded to a Gaatom proximate to one tetracoordinate O atom in each of an upper halfand a lower half through three tetracoordinate O atoms in a lower halfwith respect to the Zn atom, and the Ga atom is bonded to an In atomproximate to three tetracoordinate O atoms in each of an upper half anda lower half through one tetracoordinate O atom in a lower half withrespect to the Ga atom. A plurality of such medium groups is bonded, sothat a large group is formed.

FIG. 13B illustrates a large group including three medium groups. Notethat FIG. 13C illustrates an atomic arrangement in the case where thelayered structure in FIG. 13B is observed from the c-axis direction.

Here, since electric charge of a (hexacoordinate or pentacoordinate) Inatom, electric charge of a (tetracoordinate) Zn atom, and electriccharge of a (pentacoordinate) Ga atom are +3, +2, and +3, respectively,electric charge of a small group including any of an In atom, a Zn atom,and a Ga atom is 0. As a result, the total electric charge of a mediumgroup having a combination of such small groups is always 0.

In order to form the layered structure of the In—Ga—Zn—O-based material,a large group can be formed using not only the medium group illustratedin FIG. 13A but also a medium group in which the arrangement of the Inatom, the Ga atom, and the Zn atom is different from that in FIG. 13A.

Further, an In—Sn—Zn-based oxide can be referred to as ITZO. An oxidetarget which has a composition ratio of In:Sn:Zn=1:2:2, 2:1:3, 1:1:1,20:45:35, or the like in an atomic ratio is used.

Note that in the oxide semiconductor film in this specification, theconcentration of sodium (Na) measured by a secondary ion massspectroscopy (SIMS) method is 5×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ or lower, preferably 1×10¹⁶cm⁻³ or lower, further preferably 1×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ or lower. In the oxidesemiconductor film in this specification, the concentration of lithium(Li) measured by SIMS is 5×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ or lower, preferably 1×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ orlower. In the oxide semiconductor film in this specification, theconcentration of potassium (K) measured by SIMS is 5×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ or lower,preferably 1×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ or lower.

In the oxide semiconductor film, in the case where the concentration ofan alkali metal such as sodium (Na), lithium (Li), or potassium (K) oran alkaline earth metal is high, deterioration in transistorcharacteristics and variation in transistor characteristics might begenerated. Therefore, in order to suppress such deterioration intransistor characteristics and variation in transistor characteristics,the concentrations of the alkali metal and the alkaline earth metal inthe oxide semiconductor film preferably fall within the ranges givenabove.

In particular, in the case where the insulating film in contact with theoxide semiconductor film is an oxide insulating film, sodium (Na)diffuses into the insulating film and becomes sodium ions (Na⁺). Inaddition, sodium (Na) may cut the bond between metal and oxygen or mayenter the bond in the oxide semiconductor film.

In the case where sodium (Na) becomes sodium ions (Na⁺) in theinsulating film, in the case where sodium (Na) cuts the bond betweenmetal and oxygen in the oxide semiconductor film, or in the case wheresodium (Na) enters the bond in the oxide semiconductor film, there is arisk in that transistor characteristics deteriorate (e.g., thetransistor becomes normally-on (the shift of a threshold voltage to anegative side) or the mobility is decreased). Further, such behavior ofsodium (Na) causes variation in transistor characteristics.

The deterioration in transistor characteristics and variation intransistor characteristics due to an alkali metal and an alkaline earthmetal are significant particularly in the case where the hydrogenconcentration in the oxide semiconductor film is sufficiently low.Therefore, the concentration of an alkali metal is preferably set to theabove value in the case where the hydrogen concentration in the oxidesemiconductor film is 5×10¹⁹ cm⁻³ or lower, particularly 5×10¹⁸ cm⁻³ orlower.

The electrode 105 a serving as one of the source electrode and the drainelectrode overlaps with part of the gate electrode 102 a and part of theoxide semiconductor film 104. The electrode 105 b serving as the otherof the source electrode and the drain electrode overlaps with part ofthe gate electrode 102 b and part of the oxide semiconductor film 104.

For each of the electrode 105 a and the electrode 105 b, a conductivefilm containing an element selected from aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr),tantalum (Ta), titanium (Ti), molybdenum (Mo), and tungsten (W); analloy film containing any of the above elements; an alloy filmcontaining any of the above elements in combination; or the like isused.

Note that a single aluminum (Al) film has disadvantages such as low heatresistance and a tendency to corrosion. Therefore, when aluminum (Al) isused for the electrode 105 a and the electrode 105 b, aluminum (Al) isused in combination with a conductive material having heat resistance.

As a conductive material having heat resistance which is used incombination with aluminum (Al), a material containing an elementselected from titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), molybdenum(Mo), chromium (Cr), neodymium (Nd), and scandium (Sc); or an alloymaterial containing any of the above elements; an alloy materialcontaining any of the above elements in combination; or a nitridecontaining any of the above elements is used.

An insulating film 126 is formed to cover the gate electrode 102 aserving as the first gate electrode, the gate electrode 102 b serving asthe second gate electrode, the gate insulating film 123, the oxidesemiconductor film 104, the electrode 105 a serving as one of a sourceelectrode and a drain electrode, and the electrode 105 b serving as theother of the source electrode and the drain electrode. The insulatingfilm 126 is an insulating film that is formed in direct contact with theoxide semiconductor film 104, and serves as a protection film of theoxide semiconductor film 104.

In a manner similar to that of the gate insulating film 123, theinsulating film 126 may have a single layer structure of a silicon oxidefilm, a silicon oxynitride film, a silicon nitride oxide film, or asilicon nitride film, or may have a stacked structure of any of thesefilms. Note that the protective film is provided to prevent entry ofcontaminant impurities such as an organic substance, metal, and moistureexisting in the air and is preferably a dense film.

FIG. 1A is a top view of the oxide semiconductor transistor 100, andFIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along A-A′ in FIG. 1A.

A region in the oxide semiconductor film 104 between the electrode 105 aand the electrode 105 b (the source electrode and the drain electrode)corresponds to a channel formation region. Thus, as illustrated in FIG.1A, a distance between an edge of the electrode 105 a and an edge of theelectrode 105 b corresponds to a channel length L. Further, the lengthof one side, which perpendicular to the channel length, of the electrode105 a or the electrode 105 b corresponds to a channel width W.

Accordingly, a region where the oxide semiconductor film 104 overlapswith neither the gate electrode 102 a nor the gate electrode 102 b inthe channel formation region is the L_(off) region 109. A length of theL_(off) region 109 in the channel length direction is a length F.

When the length F that is the length of the L_(off) region 109 in thechannel length direction is too short, the effect of reducing on-statecurrent cannot be obtained, while when the length F is too long,resistance of the channel formation region is increased. Therefore, thelength F that is the length of the L_(off) region 109 in the channellength direction is preferably greater than or equal to 1 μm and lessthan or equal to 20 μm.

The on-state current of the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 can bereduced by forming the L_(off) region 109. Therefore, the oxidesemiconductor transistor 100 in which the on-state current can bereduced without increasing the occupied area can be provided.

The oxide semiconductor transistor 100 whose on-state current is reducedby the formation of the L_(off) region 109 in such a manner can be usedin a pixel of a display device. The display device in which the oxidesemiconductor transistor 100 is used in a pixel will be described later.

Note that although a bottom-gate transistor is described as the oxidesemiconductor transistor 100 in this embodiment, one embodiment of thedisclosed invention is not limited thereto. A top-gate oxidesemiconductor transistor is also preferable as long as the top-gateoxide semiconductor transistor includes the first gate electrode and thesecond gate electrode formed apart from each other, and a region thatoverlaps with the first gate electrode and the second gate electrodewith the gate insulating film interposed therebetween and a region thatoverlaps with neither the first gate electrode nor the second gateelectrode because the effect of reducing the on-state current can beobtained.

<Oxide Semiconductor Transistor without L_(Off) Region and OxideSemiconductor Transistor with L_(off) Region Over One Substrate>

FIGS. 2A and 2B are top views illustrating an oxide semiconductortransistor 110 in which an L_(off) region is not formed and the oxidesemiconductor transistor 100 in which an L_(off) region 109 is formed,and FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view thereof.

A cross-sectional view taken along A-A′ in FIG. 2B and a cross-sectionalview taken along B-B′ in FIG. 2A are illustrated in FIG. 2C. Note thatFIG. 2B is the same as FIG. 1A, and the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2Ctaken along A-A′ is the same as FIG. 1B. The detailed description of theoxide semiconductor transistor 100 illustrated in FIGS. 2B and 2C is thesame as the above-mentioned description, and thus omitted.

The oxide semiconductor transistor 110 illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2C isformed over the substrate 101 having an insulating surface.

The oxide semiconductor transistor 110 is formed over the substrate 101,and includes a gate electrode 112 serving as a third gate electrode anda gate insulating film 123. A material for the gate electrode 112 is thesame as the material for the gate electrode 102 a and the gate electrode102 b.

The oxide semiconductor transistor 110 includes an oxide semiconductorfilm 114 serving as a second oxide semiconductor film which is formedover the gate electrode 112 with the gate insulating film 123 interposedtherebetween. In the oxide semiconductor film 114, a channel formationregion is formed. A material for the oxide semiconductor film 114 is thesame as the material for the oxide semiconductor film 104.

The oxide semiconductor transistor 110 includes an electrode 115 a whichserves as one of the source electrode and the drain electrode andoverlaps with part of the gate electrode 112 and part of the oxidesemiconductor film 114, and an electrode 115 b which serves as the otherof the source electrode and the drain electrode and overlaps with partof the gate electrode 112 and part of the oxide semiconductor film 114.A material for the electrode 115 a and the electrode 115 b is the sameas the material for the electrode 105 a and the electrode 105 b.

As in the oxide semiconductor transistor 100, in the oxide semiconductortransistor 110, the insulating film 126 is formed to cover the gateelectrode 112, the gate insulating film 123, the oxide semiconductorfilm 114, the electrode 115 a serving as one of a source electrode and adrain electrode, and the electrode 115 b serving as the other of thesource electrode and the drain electrode. The insulating film 126 is aninsulating film that is formed in direct contact with the oxidesemiconductor film 114, and serves as a protection film of the oxidesemiconductor film 114.

The oxide semiconductor transistor 110 does not include an L_(off)region and thus has a high on-state current. The oxide semiconductortransistor 110 with high on-state current can be used in a drivercircuit of a display device. The display device in which the oxidesemiconductor transistor 110 is used in a driver circuit will bedescribed later.

Note that although in FIGS. 2A to 2C, the shapes of the gate electrode102 a, the gate electrode 102 b, the oxide semiconductor film 104, theelectrode 105 a, and the electrode 105 b of the oxide semiconductortransistor 100, and the shapes of the gate electrode 112, the oxidesemiconductor film 114, the electrode 115 a, and the electrode 115 b ofthe oxide semiconductor transistor 110 are rectangular shapes, thisembodiment is not limited thereto. The shapes of the gate electrode, theoxide semiconductor film, the source electrode, and the drain electrodewhich are components of the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 and theoxide semiconductor transistor 110 may be curved shapes as illustratedin FIGS. 10A to 10C. The oxide semiconductor transistor including thegate electrode, the oxide semiconductor film, the source electrode, andthe drain electrode with curved shapes, in the case where an L_(off)region is formed in the oxide semiconductor transistor, is preferable interms of low on-state current. An oxide semiconductor transistor inwhich an L_(off) region is not formed can be used for a driver circuitsince it has a high on-state current.

Although bottom-gate transistors are described as the oxidesemiconductor transistor 100 and the oxide semiconductor transistor 110in this embodiment, this embodiment is not limited thereto. A top-gateoxide semiconductor transistor including an L_(off) region is formed ispreferable in terms of low on-state current. An oxide semiconductortransistor in which an L_(off) region is not formed can be used for adriver circuit since it has a high on-state current.

A manufacturing method of the oxide semiconductor transistor 110 inwhich an L_(off) region is not formed and the oxide semiconductortransistor 100 in which the L_(off) region 109 is formed over the samesubstrate 101 is described below.

First, over the substrate 101 having an insulating surface, the gateelectrode 112, the gate electrode 102 a, and the gate electrode 102 bare formed (see FIG. 3A).

The gate electrode 112, the gate electrode 102 a, and the gate electrode102 b are formed in such a manner that a conductive film is formed by asputtering method or a vacuum evaporation method, and the conductivefilm is etched. Alternatively, the gate electrode 112, the gateelectrode 102 a, and the gate electrode 102 b may be formed bydischarging a conductive nanopaste by an ink jet method and baking theconductive nanopaste.

Next, the gate insulating film 123 is formed to cover the substrate 101,the gate electrode 112, the gate electrode 102 a, and the gate electrode102 b (see FIG. 3B).

Then, an oxide semiconductor film 124 is formed to cover the gateinsulating film 123 (see FIG. 3C). The oxide semiconductor film 124 maybe formed by a sputtering method using the material for the oxidesemiconductor film 104 as a target.

Then, the oxide semiconductor film 124 is processed by etching, so thatthe oxide semiconductor film 114 is formed over the gate electrode 112with the gate insulating film 123 interposed therebetween, and the oxidesemiconductor film 104 is formed over the gate electrode 102 a and thegate electrode 102 b with the gate insulating film 123 interposedtherebetween (see FIG. 4A). Thus, the oxide semiconductor film 114 inwhich a channel formation region of the oxide semiconductor transistor110 is formed and the oxide semiconductor film 104 in which a channelformation region of the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 is formed canbe formed using the same material through the same steps.

In FIG. 4A, a region of the oxide semiconductor film 104 between thegate electrode 102 a and the gate electrode 102 b, that is, a regionwhere the oxide semiconductor film 104 does not overlap with the gateelectrodes is the L_(off) region 109. The existence of the L_(off)region 109 can reduce the on-state current of the oxide semiconductortransistor 100.

A conductive film 125 is formed to cover the gate insulating film 123,the oxide semiconductor film 114, and the oxide semiconductor film 104(see FIG. 4B). The formation of the conductive film 125 may be performedby a sputtering method using the material of the electrode 105 a and theelectrode 105 b as a target.

Next, the conductive film 125 is etched so that the electrode 115 a andthe electrode 115 b which are a source electrode and a drain electrodeof the oxide semiconductor transistor 110 and the electrode 105 a andthe electrode 105 b which are a source electrode and a drain electrodeof the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 are formed. As describedabove, the oxide semiconductor transistor 110 and the oxidesemiconductor transistor 100 are manufactured (see FIG. 4C).

Then, an insulating film 126 functioning as a protection film is formedto cover the oxide semiconductor transistor 110 and the oxidesemiconductor transistor 100 (see FIG. 2C).

Since the oxide semiconductor transistor 110 does not have an L_(off)region, the on-state current is high. On the other hand, the oxidesemiconductor transistor 100 has the L_(off) region 109, whereby theon-state current is reduced.

Thus, the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 whose on-state current islow and the oxide semiconductor transistor 110 whose on-state current ishigh can be manufactured over the same substrate 101.

Note that in this embodiment, etching is performed on the oxidesemiconductor film 124 so that the oxide semiconductor film 114 and theoxide semiconductor film 104 are formed, and then the conductive film125 is formed and etched so that the electrode 115 a, the electrode 115b, the electrode 105 a, and the electrode 105 b are formed. However,this embodiment is not limited to the above manufacturing process. Theoxide semiconductor film 124 and the conductive film 125 may be formedand then etched using the same mask. The etching of the oxidesemiconductor film 124 and the conductive film 125 using the same maskcan reduce the number of masks and the number of manufacturing steps.

By manufacturing an oxide semiconductor transistor 100 whose on-statecurrent is low and an oxide semiconductor transistor 110 whose on-statecurrent is high over the same substrate 101 in the above manner, thenumber of manufacturing steps of oxide semiconductor transistors can bereduced and thus the manufacturing cost can be lower.

Note that although in this embodiment, as the oxide semiconductortransistor 100 whose on-state current is low and the oxide semiconductortransistor 110 whose on-state current is high, an example in whichbottom-gate transistors are manufactured is described, one embodiment ofthe disclosed invention is not limited thereto. Also in the case wheretop-gate transistors are employed as the oxide semiconductor transistor100 and the oxide semiconductor transistor 110, the transistors can bemanufactured simultaneously over one substrate. Therefore, the number ofmanufacturing steps of the oxide semiconductor transistors can bereduced, leading to reduction in the manufacturing cost.

<Display Device>

In this embodiment, an example of a light-emitting display device isdescribed as a display device according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. As a display element included in a display device, alight-emitting element utilizing electroluminescence is described here.Light-emitting elements utilizing electroluminescence are classifiedaccording to whether a light-emitting material is an organic compound oran inorganic compound. In general, the former is referred to as anorganic EL element, and the latter is referred to as an inorganic ELelement.

In an organic EL element, by application of voltage to a light-emittingelement, electrons and holes are separately injected from a pair ofelectrodes into a layer containing a light-emitting organic compound,and current flows. The carriers (electrons and holes) are recombined,and thus, the light-emitting organic compound is excited. Thelight-emitting organic compound returns to a ground state from theexcited state, thereby emitting light. Owing to such a mechanism, thislight-emitting element is referred to as a current-excitationlight-emitting element.

The inorganic EL elements are classified according to their elementstructures into a dispersion-type inorganic EL element and a thin-filminorganic EL element. A dispersion-type inorganic EL element has alight-emitting layer where particles of a light-emitting material aredispersed in a binder, and its light emission mechanism isdonor-acceptor recombination type light emission that utilizes a donorlevel and an acceptor level. A thin-film inorganic EL element has astructure where a light-emitting layer is sandwiched between dielectriclayers, which are further sandwiched between electrodes, and its lightemission mechanism is localized type light emission that utilizesinner-shell electron transition of metal ions. Note that an example ofan organic EL element as a light-emitting element is described here.

In FIG. 5A, as an example of a light-emitting display device accordingto one embodiment of the present invention, an active matrix EL displaydevice is illustrated. The light-emitting display device illustrated inFIG. 5A includes, over the substrate 101 having an insulating surface, apixel portion 131 including a plurality of pixels 136, and a gate driver132 and a source driver 134 which are driver circuits for driving thepixel portion 131.

The pixel portion 131 is connected to the source driver 134 via aplurality of source lines 135 that extends from the source driver 134.The pixel portion 131 is also connected to the gate driver 132 via aplurality of gate lines 133 that extends from the gate driver 132. Thepixel portion 131 includes the plurality of pixels 136 arranged inmatrix corresponding to the source lines 135 and the gate lines 133.

Each pixel 136 includes a transistor 141, a transistor 142, alight-emitting element 144, a capacitor 143, the source line 135, thegate line 133, and a power supply line 137 (see FIG. 5B).

One of a source and a drain of the transistor 141 is electricallyconnected to the source line 135. The other of the source and the drainof the transistor 141 is electrically connected to one terminal of thecapacitor 143 and a gate of the transistor 142. A gate of the transistor141 is electrically connected to the gate line 133. The transistor 141functions as a switching element that controls on/off of the transistor142.

One of a source and a drain of the transistor 142 is electricallyconnected to the light-emitting element 144. The other of the source andthe drain of the transistor 142 is electrically connected to the otherterminal of the capacitor 143 and the power supply line 137. The gate ofthe transistor 142 is electrically connected to the other of the sourceand the drain of the transistor 141 and one terminal of the capacitor143. The transistor 142 functions as a current control element forcontrolling a current flowing in the light-emitting element 144.

One terminal of the capacitor 143 is electrically connected to the otherof the source and the drain of the transistor 141 and the gate of thetransistor 142. The other terminal of the capacitor 143 is electricallyconnected to the other of the source and the drain of the transistor 142and the power supply line 137.

The light-emitting element 144 is electrically connected to one of thesource and the drain of the transistor 142.

For the transistor 141 and the transistor 142 used in the pixel 136, theoxide semiconductor transistor 100 described with reference to FIGS. 1Aand 1B and FIGS. 2B and 2C can be employed.

When the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 having the L_(off) region109 is used as the transistor 141 and the transistor 142 used in thepixel 136, the transistor 141 and the transistor 142 with reducedon-state current can be obtained without increasing the occupied area.

The oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-state current is reduced isused in the pixel 136 of a light-emitting display device as describedabove, whereby decrease in aperture ratio of the light-emitting displaydevice can be suppressed.

Further, it is particularly preferable to use the transistor whoseon-state current is reduced as the transistor 142 that is a currentcontrol transistor of the light-emitting element 144 because even whenthe driving voltage of the transistor 142 changes, the amount of changein drain current is small. The reason is explained below.

The luminance of the light-emitting display device of this embodimentdepends on current of the light-emitting element 144 and the transistor142. Therefore, characteristics of the light-emitting element 144 andthe transistor 142 are important for the luminance of the light-emittingdisplay device.

A difference in characteristics between the following two cases isdescribed with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B: the case of using atransistor in which the channel length is long and thus the on-statecurrent is low as the transistor 142 illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B andthe case of using a transistor in which the channel length is short andthus the on-state current is high as the transistor 142 illustrated inFIGS. 5A and 5B.

In FIGS. 5A and 5B, the voltage of one of the source and the drain ofthe transistor 142, which is connected to the power supply line 137, isreferred to as a voltage V_(A), and the voltage of the other of thesource and the drain of the transistor 142, which is connected to thelight-emitting element 144, is referred to as a voltage V_(E).

FIGS. 9A and 9B show voltage V_(E) vs. drain current I_(d)characteristics (hereinafter also referred to as “V_(E)-I_(D)characteristics”) of the transistor having a low on-state current(having a long channel length) and the transistor having a high on-statecurrent (having a short channel length) and voltage characteristics ofthe light-emitting element 144. Note that at this time, the voltageV_(gs) between a gate and a source of the transistor having a lowon-state current (having a long channel length) is equal to that of thetransistor having a high on-state current (having a short channellength).

In FIG. 9A, a curve showing the voltage characteristics of thelight-emitting element 144 is referred to as a curve C_(E).

In addition, a curve showing the V_(E)-I_(D) characteristics of thetransistor having a low on-state current (having a long channel length)is referred to as a curve C_(l), a voltage of the point where the curveC_(l) intersects with the curve C_(E) is referred to as a voltage V_(l),and a current of the point where the curve C_(l) intersects with thecurve C_(E) is referred to as current I_(d1).

In addition, a curve showing the V_(E)-I_(D) characteristics of thetransistor having a high on-state current (having a short channellength) is referred to as a curve C_(s), a voltage of the point wherethe curve C_(s) intersects with the curve C_(E) is referred to as avoltage V_(s), and a current of the point where the curve C_(s)intersects with the curve C_(E) is referred to as current I_(ds).

Each of the curve C_(l) and the curve C_(s) has a saturation region Sand a linear region R. The saturation region S is a region where thedrain current I_(d) hardly changes with respect to the voltage V_(E).The linear region R is a region where the drain current I_(d) changeslinearly with respect to the voltage V_(E).

The voltage V_(l) is a driving voltage of the transistor having a lowon-state current (having a long channel length), and the voltage V_(s)is a driving voltage of the transistor having a high on-state current(having a short channel length).

In FIG. 9B, the voltage characteristics in the case where thelight-emitting element 144 deteriorates and a current flowing in thelight-emitting element 144 becomes low are shown.

In FIG. 9B, a curve C_(E1) shows the voltage characteristics of thelight-emitting element 144 that has not started to deteriorate yet, anda curve C_(E2) shows the voltage characteristics of the light-emittingelement 144 that has deteriorated.

A voltage of the point where the curve C_(l) showing the V_(E)-I_(D)characteristics of the transistor having a low on-state current (havinga long channel length) intersects with the curve C_(E1) is referred toas a driving voltage V_(I1). A voltage of the point where the curveC_(s) showing the V_(E)-I_(D) characteristics of the transistor having ahigh on-state current (having a short channel length) intersects withthe curve C_(E1) is referred to as a driving voltage V_(s1).

Similarly, a voltage of the point where the curve C_(l) showing theV_(E)-I_(D) characteristics of the transistor having a low on-statecurrent (having a long channel length) intersects with the curve C_(E2)is referred to as a driving voltage V_(l2). A voltage of the point wherethe curve C_(s) showing the V_(E)-I_(D) characteristics of thetransistor having a high on-state current (having a short channellength) intersects with the curve C_(E2) is referred to as a drivingvoltage V_(s2).

When the light-emitting element 144 deteriorates and the current flowingin the light-emitting element 144 becomes low, the value of voltageapplied to the light-emitting element 144 needs to be increased.Therefore, the values of the driving voltage V_(l2) and the drivingvoltage V_(s2) are higher than those of the driving voltage V_(l1) andthe driving voltage V_(s1). Further, when the values of the drivingvoltage V_(l2) and the driving voltage V_(s2) become high, the drivingvoltage V_(l2) and the driving voltage V_(s2) might enter the linearregion R.

FIG. 9B shows the case where the driving voltage V_(s2) of thetransistor having a high on-state current (having a short channellength) is in the linear region R. When the driving voltage is in thelinear region R, the drain current might be significantly changed due toa slight change in driving voltage.

On the other hand, the driving voltage V_(l2) of the transistor having alow on-state current (having a long channel length) is not in the linearregion R and is in the saturation region S.

Therefore, the transistor having a low on-state current (having a longchannel length) has an effect of suppressing the change in drain currenteven when the driving voltage changes.

Accordingly, the transistor having a low on-state current (having a longchannel length) is particularly suitable for the transistor 142 in thatthe amount of change in drain current is small even when the drivingvoltage of the transistor 142 changes.

As a transistor used in the gate driver 132 and the source driver 134for driving the pixel portion 131 including the plurality of pixels 136,the oxide semiconductor transistor 110 illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2Ccan be used.

With use of the oxide semiconductor transistor 110 as a transistor usedin the gate driver 132 and the source driver 134, the oxidesemiconductor transistor 110 whose on-state current is high and theoxide semiconductor transistor 100 whose on-state current is low can bemanufactured over the same substrate 101.

The formation of the oxide semiconductor transistor 110 whose on-statecurrent is high and the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 whoseon-state current is low over the same substrate 101 can reduce themanufacturing steps of the oxide semiconductor transistor 110 and theoxide semiconductor transistor 100, leading to reduction in themanufacturing cost.

According to this embodiment, a display device in which, over the samesubstrate 101, the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 whose on-statecurrent is low is used in the pixel 136 and the oxide semiconductortransistor 110 whose on-state current is high is used in the drivercircuits (the gate driver 132 and the source driver 134) can beobtained.

As a transistor used in the pixel portion 131 including the plurality ofpixels 136 and a transistor used in the driver circuits (the gate driver132 and the source driver 134), the oxide semiconductor transistor 100and the oxide semiconductor transistor 110 can be manufactured over thesame substrate 101. Therefore, the manufacturing steps of thelight-emitting display device can be reduced and thus the manufacturingcost can be reduced.

FIGS. 6A to 6C illustrate cross sections of the light-emitting element144 and the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 used as the transistor142.

A light-emitting display device illustrated in FIG. 6A includes thesubstrate 101, the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 as the transistor142, the insulating film 126, an insulating film 127, a partition wall128, an electrode 107, a light-emitting layer 152, and an electrode 153.The electrode 107 is electrically connected to the other of the sourceelectrode and the drain electrode of the oxide semiconductor transistor100. The light-emitting element 144 includes the electrode 107, thelight-emitting layer 152, and the electrode 153.

In order to extract light emitted from the light-emitting element 144,at least one of an anode and a cathode of the light-emitting element 144has a light-transmitting property. A transistor and a light-emittingelement are formed over a substrate. A light-emitting element can have atop emission structure, in which light emission is extracted through thesurface on the side opposite to the substrate side; a bottom emissionstructure, in which light emission is extracted through the surface onthe substrate side; or a dual emission structure, in which lightemission is extracted through the surface on the side opposite to thesubstrate side and the surface on the substrate side. The pixelstructure according to one embodiment of the present invention can beapplied to a light-emitting element having any of these emissionstructures.

FIG. 6A illustrates the light-emitting element 144 with a top-emissionstructure.

The insulating film 127 is preferably formed using an organic resin suchas acrylic, polyimide, or polyamide or using siloxane.

In this embodiment, the transistor 142 (the oxide semiconductortransistor 100) in the pixel 136 is an n-channel transistor. Thus, theelectrode 107 is preferably used as a cathode. Specifically, for thecathode, a metal material with a low work function, such as Ca, Al, CaF,MgAg, or AlLi can be used.

The partition wall 128 is formed using an organic resin film, aninorganic insulating film, or organic polysiloxane. It is particularlypreferable that the partition wall 128 be formed using a photosensitivematerial to have an opening over the electrode 107 so that a sidewall ofthe opening is formed as a tilted surface with continuous curvature.

The light-emitting layer 152 may be formed to have a single-layerstructure or a stacked structure including a plurality of layers.

The electrode 153 is formed as an anode to cover the light-emittinglayer 152. The electrode 153 can be formed from a light-transmittingconductive film that is formed using a conductive material having alight-transmitting property.

As the conductive material having a light-transmitting property, indiumoxide containing tungsten oxide, indium zinc oxide containing tungstenoxide, indium oxide containing titanium oxide, indium tin oxidecontaining titanium oxide, indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide, andindium tin oxide to which silicon oxide is added are given, for example.

The light-emitting element 144 is formed from an overlap of theelectrode 107, the light-emitting layer 152, and the electrode 153. Inorder to prevent entry of oxygen, hydrogen, moisture, carbon dioxide,and the like into the light-emitting element 144, a protection film maybe formed to cover the electrode 153 and the partition wall 128. As theprotection film, a silicon nitride film, a silicon nitride oxide film, aDLC film, or the like can be formed.

In the case of the light-emitting element 144 illustrated in FIG. 6A,the electrode 107 serving as a cathode is formed using a metal materialhaving a light-blocking property, and the electrode 153 serving as ananode is formed using a conductive material having a light-transmittingproperty. Therefore, light is emitted from the light-emitting element144 illustrated in FIG. 6A toward the electrode 153 side as indicated byan arrow. The light-emitting element 144 illustrated in FIG. 6A is alight-emitting element with a top-emission structure.

Since the light-emitting element illustrated in FIG. 6A is alight-emitting element with a top-emission structure, it is difficult toincrease the aperture ratio of the light-emitting display device.However, the on-state current of the transistor 142 is optimizedaccording to this embodiment, and the light-emitting display deviceaccording to this embodiment can be used favorably.

FIG. 6B illustrates the light-emitting element 144 with abottom-emission structure.

In FIG. 6B, the electrode 108 electrically connected to the transistor142 (the oxide semiconductor transistor 100) in the pixel 136 is formedusing the above-described conductive material having alight-transmitting property.

The electrode 154 serving as the cathode of the light-emitting element144 is formed over the electrode 108 having a light-transmittingproperty, and the light-emitting layer 152 and the electrode 153 servingas the anode are stacked in this order over the electrode 154.

For the electrode 154 serving as a cathode, a variety of materials canbe employed as long as it is a conductive material with a low workfunction, as in the electrode 107 illustrated in FIG. 6A. Note that theelectrode 154 is formed to have a thickness that can transmit light(preferably about 5 nm to 30 nm). For example, an aluminum film having athickness of 20 nm can be used as the electrode 154.

In the case where the electrode 153 has a light-transmitting property, alight-blocking film 155 for reflecting or blocking light is formed tocover the electrode 153. As the light-blocking film 155, metal or thelike that reflects light can be used for example; however, thelight-blocking film 155 is not limited to a metal film. For example, aresin to which a black pigment is added can be used.

The light-emitting element 144 is formed from an overlap of theelectrode 154, the light-emitting layer 152, and the electrode 153. Inorder to prevent entry of oxygen, hydrogen, moisture, carbon dioxide,and the like into the light-emitting element 144, a protection film maybe formed to cover the light-blocking film 155 and the partition wall128. As the protection film, a silicon nitride film, a silicon nitrideoxide film, a DLC film, or the like can be formed.

In the case of the light-emitting element 144 illustrated in FIG. 6B,the thickness of the electrode 154 serving as the cathode is smallenough to transmit light. Further, the electrode 108 having alight-transmitting property is formed below the electrode 154.Furthermore, the light-blocking film 155 is formed to cover theelectrode 153 serving as an anode.

Therefore, light is emitted from the light-emitting element 144illustrated in FIG. 6B toward the electrode 154 side as indicated by anarrow. The light-emitting element 144 illustrated in FIG. 6B is alight-emitting element with a bottom-emission structure.

Although the light-emitting element illustrated in FIG. 6B is alight-emitting element with a top-emission structure, the aperture ratioof the light-emitting display device can be increased according to thisembodiment. Further, the on-state current of the transistor 142 isoptimized according to this embodiment, and the light-emitting displaydevice according to this embodiment can be used favorably.

FIG. 6C illustrates the light-emitting element 144 with a dual-emissionstructure.

In FIG. 6C, as in FIG. 6B, the electrode 108 electrically connected tothe transistor 142 (the oxide semiconductor transistor 100) in the pixel136 is formed using the above-described conductive material having alight-transmitting property.

In the light-emitting element 144 illustrated in FIG. 6C, as in FIG. 6B,the electrode 154 serving as the cathode of the light-emitting element144 is formed over the electrode 108 having a light-transmittingproperty, and the light-emitting layer 152 and the electrode 153 servingas the anode are stacked in this order over the electrode 154.

For the electrode 154 serving as a cathode, a variety of materials canbe employed as long as it is a conductive material with a low workfunction, as in the electrode 107 illustrated in FIG. 6A. Note that theelectrode 154 is formed to have a thickness that can transmit light(preferably about 5 nm to 30 nm). For example, an aluminum film having athickness of 20 nm can be used as the electrode 154.

The light-emitting element 144 is formed from an overlap of theelectrode 154, the light-emitting layer 152, and the electrode 153. Inorder to prevent entry of oxygen, hydrogen, moisture, carbon dioxide,and the like into the light-emitting element 144, a protection film maybe formed to cover the electrode 153 and the partition wall 128. As theprotection film, a silicon nitride film, a silicon nitride oxide film, aDLC film, or the like can be formed.

In the case of the light-emitting element 144 illustrated in FIG. 6C,the thickness of the electrode 154 serving as the cathode is smallenough to transmit light. Further, the electrode 108 having alight-transmitting property is formed below the electrode 154.Furthermore, the electrode 153 serving as an anode is also formed usinga conductive material having a light-transmitting property.

Therefore, light is emitted from the light-emitting element 144illustrated in FIG. 6C toward both the electrode 154 side and theelectrode 153 side as indicated by an arrow. The light-emitting element144 illustrated in FIG. 6C is a light-emitting element with abottom-emission structure.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the thus formed light-emittingelement 144 be packaged (sealed) with a protective film (such as abonding film or an ultraviolet curable resin film) or a cover materialwith high air-tightness and little degasification so that thelight-emitting element 144 is not exposed to the outside air.

Note that, although an organic EL element is described here as thelight-emitting element 144, an inorganic EL element can also be providedas the light-emitting element 144.

Further, if necessary, the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 may beprovided with a light-blocking film for shielding the L_(off) region 109or a light-blocking film for shielding the whole oxide semiconductortransistor 100. Such a light-blocking film can improve the lightextraction efficiency.

<Display Panel>

FIGS. 7A and 7B are a top view and a cross-sectional view illustrating adisplay panel which is one mode of the display device of thisembodiment. FIG. 7B corresponds to a cross-sectional view taken alongC-C′ in FIG. 7A.

A sealing material 162 is provided to surround the pixel portion 131, agate driver 132 a, a gate driver 132 b, a source driver 134 a, and asource driver 134 b which are formed over the first substrate 101.Further, a second substrate 161 is provided over the pixel portion 131,the gate driver 132 a, the gate driver 132 b, the source driver 134 a,and the source driver 134 b. The pixel portion 131, the gate driver 132a, the gate driver 132 b, the source driver 134 a, and the source driver134 b are sealed together with a filler 169, by the first substrate 101,the second substrate 161, and the sealing material 162.

As a transistor used in the pixel portion 131 over the first substrate101, the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 described with reference toFIGS. 1A and 1B and FIGS. 2B and 2C can be used, in the above manner.

With use of the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 having the L_(off)region 109 as the transistor used in the pixel portion 131, the on-statecurrent of the transistor used in the pixel portion 131 can be reducedwithout increasing the occupied area.

In a display panel in which the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 isused in the pixel portion 131, reduction in aperture ratio of thedisplay panel can be suppressed.

As a transistor used in the gate driver 132 a, the gate driver 132 b,the source driver 134 a, and the source driver 134 b, the oxidesemiconductor transistor 110 described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2Ccan be used, in the above manner.

Accordingly, a display panel in which, over the same substrate 101, theoxide semiconductor transistor 100 whose on-state current is low is usedin the pixel portion 131 and the oxide semiconductor transistor 110whose on-state current is high is used in the gate driver 132 a, thegate driver 132 b, the source driver 134 a, and the source driver 134 b,can be obtained. Therefore, the manufacturing steps of the display panelcan be reduced and thus the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Signals and potentials are supplied to the gate driver 132 a, the gatedriver 132 b, the source driver 134 a, and the source driver 134 bthrough an FPC 167 a and an FPC 167 b.

For the light-emitting element 144 of the display panel illustrated inFIG. 7B, the light-emitting element with a top-emission structureillustrated in FIG. 6A is employed. In the display panel, a connectionterminal 165 is formed from the same conductive film as the electrode107, and a wiring 166 is formed from the same conductive film as theelectrode 153 included in the light-emitting element 144.

Note that without limitation to the light-emitting element with atop-emission structure illustrated in FIG. 6A, the light-emittingelement with a bottom-emission structure illustrated in FIG. 6B or thelight-emitting element with a dual-emission structure illustrated inFIG. 6C may be used as the light-emitting element 144.

In the case where the light-emitting element with a bottom-emissionstructure illustrated in FIG. 6B is used in the display panelillustrated in FIG. 7B, the same conductive film as the electrode 108 orthe electrode 154 can be used for the connection terminal 165, and thesame conductive film as the electrode 153 can be used for the wiring166.

In the case where the light-emitting element with a dual-emissionstructure illustrated in FIG. 6C is used in the display panelillustrated in FIG. 7B, the same conductive film as the electrode 108 orthe electrode 154 can be used for the connection terminal 165, and thesame conductive film as the electrode 153 can be used for the wiring166.

The connection terminal 165 is electrically connected to a terminalincluded in the FPC 167 a through an anisotropic conductive film 168.

In the case where the light-emitting element with a top-emissionstructure illustrated in FIG. 6A or the light-emitting element with adual-emission structure illustrated in FIG. 6C is used as thelight-emitting element 144, the second substrate 161 located in thedirection in which light is extracted from the light-emitting element144 needs to have a light-transmitting property. In that case, alight-transmitting material such as a glass plate, a plastic plate, apolyester film, or an acrylic film is used for the second substrate 161.

As the filler 169, an ultraviolet curable resin or a thermosetting resincan be used in addition to an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon. Forexample, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), an acrylic resin, polyimide, an epoxyresin, a silicone resin, polyvinyl butyral (PVB), or ethylene vinylacetate (EVA) can be used. In this embodiment, nitrogen is used for thefiller 169.

As needed, an optical film, such as a polarizing plate, a circularlypolarizing plate (including an elliptically polarizing plate), aretardation plate (a quarter-wave plate or a half-wave plate), or acolor filter, may be provided as appropriate on a light-emitting surfaceof the light-emitting element 144. Further, the polarizing plate or thecircularly polarizing plate may be provided with an anti-reflectionfilm. For example, anti-glare treatment can be performed by whichreflected light is diffused by projections on the surface so as toreduce the glare.

According to this embodiment, the oxide semiconductor transistor inwhich the on-state current is reduced and increase in occupied area issuppressed can be obtained as described above.

Further, according to this embodiment, the oxide semiconductortransistor whose on-state current is reduced is used in a pixel of adisplay device, whereby decrease in aperture ratio of the display devicecan be suppressed.

According to this embodiment, an oxide semiconductor transistor whoseon-state current is low and an oxide semiconductor transistor whoseon-state current is high over one substrate can be manufactured.

Further, according to this embodiment, a display device in which, overthe same substrate, the oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-statecurrent is low is used in the pixel and the oxide semiconductortransistor whose on-state current is high is used in the driver circuitscan be obtained.

EXAMPLE 1

In this example, change in characteristics of the oxide semiconductortransistor in the case where the length F of the L_(off) region 109 inthe channel length direction is changed is described. More specifically,dependence of the gate-source voltage V_(gs) vs. the drain current I_(d)characteristics (hereinafter also referred to as “V_(gs)-I_(d)characteristics”) on the length F is described.

FIG. 8 shows the V_(gs)-I_(d) characteristics of the oxide semiconductortransistor in the case where the length F is changed. As the oxidesemiconductor transistor of this example, the oxide semiconductortransistor 100 described in the above embodiment was used. Further, anoxide semiconductor transistor in which the length F is 0 μm, that is,an L_(off) region does not exist has the same structure as the oxidesemiconductor transistor 110 in the above embodiment. Note that in thisexample, an oxide formed of indium oxide, gallium oxide, and zinc oxide(indium gallium zinc oxide: IGZO) was used as a material for the oxidesemiconductor film 104 in the oxide semiconductor transistor 100 and theoxide semiconductor film 114 in the oxide semiconductor transistor 110.

The oxide semiconductor transistors measured in this example havedifferent channel lengths L and different channel widths W from eachother. The drain current I_(d) varies depending on the channel length Land the channel width W. Therefore, in this example, the drain currentI_(d) was normalized on the basis of the ratio of the channel length Lto the channel width W.

An oxide semiconductor transistor in which an L_(off) region does notexist is referred to as a transistor 1, the channel length L of thetransistor 1 is referred to as a channel length L₁, and the channelwidth W of the transistor 1 is referred to as W₁.

An oxide semiconductor transistor in which the length F of the L_(off)region 109 in the channel length direction is 3 μm is referred to as atransistor 2. The channel length L of the transistor 2 is referred to asa channel length L₂, the channel width W of the transistor 2 is referredto as W₂, and the measured drain current I_(d) of the transistor 2 isreferred to as I_(d2). Similarly, an oxide semiconductor transistor inwhich the length F in the channel length direction is 10 μm is referredto as a transistor 3, the channel length L, the channel width W, and themeasured drain current I_(d) of the transistor 3 are referred to as achannel length L₃, a channel width W₃, and a drain current I_(d3),respectively (see Table 1).

TABLE 1 drain current I_(d) channel length L channel width W F mea-normal- length length length sured ized name (μm) (μm) (μm) I_(d) I_(d)tran- L₁ 20 W₁ 10 0 sistor 1 tran- L₂ 9 W₂ 11 3 I_(d2) I_(d2)′ sistor 2tran- L₃ 21 W₃ 11 15 I_(d3) I_(d3)′ sistor 3

The drain current I_(d2) of the transistor 2 and the drain currentI_(d3) of the transistor 3 were normalized on the basis of the ratioL₁/W₁, which is the ratio of the channel width W₁ of the transistor 1 tothe channel length L₁ of the transistor 1.

As for the transistor 2, the measured drain current I_(d) is referred toas the drain current I_(d2), and the normalized drain current isreferred to as a drain current I_(d2)′. When the measured drain currentI_(d2) is normalized on the basis of L₁/W₁, the formulaI_(d2)′:I_(d2)=W₂/L₂: W₁/L₁ is satisfied. Accordingly, the formulaI_(d2)=I_(d2)×(W₂/L₂)×(L₁/W₁) is satisfied. As for the transistor 3, asimilar normalization was performed (see Table 1).

FIG. 8 shows the V_(gs)-I_(d) characteristics of the transistor 1, thenormalized V_(gs)-I_(d) characteristics of the transistor 2, and thenormalized V_(gs)-I_(d) characteristics of the transistor 3. In FIG. 8,a dotted line indicates the V_(gs)-I_(d) characteristics of thetransistor 1, alternate long and short dashed lines indicate theV_(gs)-I_(d) characteristics of the transistor 2, and a solid lineindicates the V_(gs)-I_(d) characteristics of the transistor 3.

As shown in FIG. 8, as the length F of the L_(off) region 109 in thechannel length direction was longer, the normalized drain current I_(d)′was lower.

Thus, according to this example, the effect of reducing on-state currentby the existence of the L_(off) region 109 was able to be confirmed.

Thus, according to one embodiment of the disclosed invention, an oxidesemiconductor transistor in which the on-state current can be reducedwithout increasing the occupied area can be provided.

Further, according to one embodiment of the disclosed invention, anoxide semiconductor transistor whose on-state current is reduced is usedin a pixel without decreasing the aperture ratio can be provided.

Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the disclosed invention, anoxide semiconductor transistor whose on-state current is low and anoxide semiconductor transistor whose on-state current is high over onesubstrate can be manufactured.

By manufacturing an oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-statecurrent is low and an oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-statecurrent is high over one substrate, the number of manufacturing steps ofoxide semiconductor transistors can be reduced and thus themanufacturing cost can be lower.

According to one embodiment of the disclosed invention, a display devicein which over one substrate, an oxide semiconductor transistor whoseon-state current is low is used in a pixel and an oxide semiconductortransistor whose on-state current is high is used in a driver circuitcan be provided.

An oxide semiconductor transistor whose on-state current is low ismanufactured in a pixel and an oxide semiconductor transistor whoseon-state current is high is manufactured in a driver circuit, the numberof manufacturing steps of a display device can be reduced and thus themanufacturing cost can be lower.

Explanation of Reference

100: oxide semiconductor transistor, 101: substrate, 102 a: gateelectrode, 102 b: gate electrode, 104: oxide semiconductor film, 105 a:electrode, 105 b: electrode, 107: electrode, 108: electrode, 109:L_(off) region, 110: oxide semiconductor transistor, 112: gateelectrode, 114: oxide semiconductor film, 115 a: electrode, 115 b:electrode, 123: gate insulating film, 124: oxide semiconductor film,125: conductive film, 126: insulating film, 127: insulating film, 128:partition wall, 131: pixel portion, 132: gate driver, 132 a: gatedriver, 132 b: gate driver, 133: gate line, 134: source driver, 134 a:source driver, 134 b: source driver, 135: source line, 136: pixel, 137:power supply line, 141: transistor, 142: transistor, 143: capacitor,144: light-emitting element, 152: light-emitting layer, 153: electrode,154: electrode, 155: light-blocking film, 161: substrate, 162: sealingmaterial, 165: connection terminal, 166: wiring, 167 a: FPC, 167 b: FPC,168: anisotropic conductive film, 169: filler

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial no.2010-207009 filed with Japan Patent Office on Sep. 15, 2010, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device comprising: a first gateelectrode and a second gate electrode apart from each other over aninsulating surface; an oxide semiconductor film comprising a regionoverlapping with the first gate electrode with a gate insulating filminterposed therebetween, a region overlapping with the second gateelectrode with the gate insulating film interposed therebetween, and aregion overlapping with neither the first gate electrode nor the secondgate electrode; one of a source electrode and a drain electrodeoverlapping with a part of the first gate electrode and a part of theoxide semiconductor film; the other of the source electrode and thedrain electrode overlapping with a part of the second gate electrode anda part of the oxide semiconductor film; and an insulating film coveringthe gate insulating film, the first gate electrode, the second gateelectrode, the oxide semiconductor film, the source electrode, and thedrain electrode, the insulating film being in direct contact with theoxide semiconductor film.
 2. The semiconductor device according to claim1, wherein the source electrode and the drain electrode comprise a metalselected from aluminum, chromium, tantalum, titanium, molybdenum, andtungsten.
 3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein theoxide semiconductor film comprises indium and zinc.
 4. The semiconductordevice according to claim 3, wherein the oxide semiconductor filmfurther comprises gallium.
 5. A semiconductor device comprising: a firsttransistor over an insulating surface, the first transistor comprising:a first gate electrode and a second gate electrode apart from each otherover the insulating surface; a first oxide semiconductor film comprisinga region overlapping with the first gate electrode with a gateinsulating film interposed therebetween, a region overlapping with thesecond gate electrode with the gate insulating film interposedtherebetween, and a region overlapping with neither the first gateelectrode nor the second gate electrode; one of a first source electrodeand a first drain electrode overlapping with a part of the first gateelectrode and a part of the first oxide semiconductor film; the other ofthe first source electrode and the first drain electrode overlappingwith a part of the second gate electrode and a part of the first oxidesemiconductor film; and an insulating film covering the gate insulatingfilm, the first gate electrode, the second gate electrode, the firstoxide semiconductor film, the first source electrode, and the firstdrain electrode, the insulating film being in direct contact with thefirst oxide semiconductor film, and a second transistor over theinsulating surface, the second transistor comprising: a third gateelectrode over the insulating surface; a second oxide semiconductor filmoverlapping with the third gate electrode with the gate insulating filminterposed therebetween; a second source electrode overlapping with apart of the third gate electrode and a part of the second oxidesemiconductor film; a second drain electrode overlapping with a part ofthe third gate electrode and a part of the second oxide semiconductorfilm; and the insulating film covering the gate insulating film, thethird gate electrode, the second oxide semiconductor film, the secondsource electrode, and the second drain electrode, the insulating filmbeing in direct contact with the second oxide semiconductor film.
 6. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein the first sourceelectrode, the first drain electrode, the second source electrode, andthe second drain electrode comprise a metal selected from aluminum,chromium, tantalum, titanium, molybdenum, and tungsten.
 7. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein the first oxidesemiconductor film and the second oxide semiconductor film compriseindium and zinc.
 8. The semiconductor device according to claim 7,wherein the first oxide semiconductor film and the second oxidesemiconductor film further comprise gallium.
 9. A display devicecomprising: a pixel portion comprising a plurality of pixels over aninsulating surface, each of the plurality of pixels comprising: a firsttransistor over an insulating surface, the first transistor comprising:a first gate electrode and a second gate electrode apart from each otherover the insulating surface; a first oxide semiconductor film comprisinga region overlapping with the first gate electrode with a gateinsulating film interposed therebetween, a region overlapping with thesecond gate electrode with the gate insulating film interposedtherebetween, and a region overlapping with neither the first gateelectrode nor the second gate electrode; one of a first source electrodeand a first drain electrode overlapping with a part of the first gateelectrode and a part of the first oxide semiconductor film; the other ofthe first source electrode and the first drain electrode overlappingwith a part of the second gate electrode and a part of the first oxidesemiconductor film; and a first insulating film covering the gateinsulating film, the first gate electrode, the second gate electrode,the first oxide semiconductor film, the first source electrode, and thefirst drain electrode, the first insulating film being in direct contactwith the first oxide semiconductor film; a second insulating film overthe first transistor; and a light-emitting element over the secondinsulating film.
 10. The display device according to claim 9, whereinthe first source electrode and the first drain electrode comprise ametal selected from aluminum, chromium, tantalum, titanium, molybdenum,and tungsten.
 11. The display device according to claim 9, wherein thefirst oxide semiconductor film comprises indium and zinc.
 12. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 11, wherein the first oxidesemiconductor film further comprises gallium.
 13. The display deviceaccording to claim 9, further comprising a driver circuit, the drivercircuit comprising: a second transistor over an insulating surface, thesecond transistor comprising: a third gate electrode over the insulatingsurface; a second oxide semiconductor film overlapping with the thirdgate electrode with the gate insulating film interposed therebetween; asecond source electrode overlapping with a part of the third gateelectrode and a part of the second oxide semiconductor film; a seconddrain electrode overlapping with a part of the third gate electrode anda part of the second oxide semiconductor film; and the first insulatingfilm covering the gate insulating film, the third gate electrode, thesecond oxide semiconductor film, the second source electrode, and thesecond drain electrode, the first insulating film being in directcontact with the second oxide semiconductor film.
 14. The display deviceaccording to claim 13, wherein the driver circuit is a source driver ora gate driver.
 15. The display device according to claim 13, wherein thefirst source electrode, the first drain electrode, the second sourceelectrode, and the second drain electrode comprise a metal selected fromaluminum, chromium, tantalum, titanium, molybdenum, and tungsten. 16.The display device according to claim 13, wherein the first oxidesemiconductor film and the second oxide semiconductor film compriseindium and zinc.
 17. The semiconductor device according to claim 16,wherein the first oxide semiconductor film and the second oxidesemiconductor film further comprise gallium.